Second suspect arrested in alleged NYC Bitcoin torture scheme

A second suspect has been arrested for allegedly kidnapping and torturing an Italian tourist in an upscale Manhattan home for weeks in an effort to steal his cryptocurrency.

William Duplessie, 32, turned himself in to authorities on Tuesday after his alleged accomplice was arrested last week.

Their alleged victim told police he was hung off a roof ledge, shocked with electrical wires and attacked with a chainsaw as his attackers demanded he reveal his Bitcoin wallet password.

Both suspects are charged with kidnapping with intent to collect ransom, assault, unlawful imprisonment and other crimes.

The arrests came after the victim managed to escape a home in SoHo, one of the wealthiest neighbourhoods in New York, where he was allegedly tortured and bound for nearly three weeks.

According to police, Mr Duplessie is the business partner of John Woeltz, 37, who was arrested on Friday.

Mr Woeltz is a crypto investor from Kentucky and has been renting the SoHo home where the assaults occurred for between $30,000 (£22,000) and $40,000 per month, according to the BBC’s US partner CBS News.

Police also arrested another woman on Friday, but prosecutors have declined to press charges against her.

The alleged victim told police he came to New York from Italy on 6 May, and that upon arriving at the suspect’s house, Mr Woeltz took his passport and allegedly held him captive until he escaped on Friday morning.

The victim, who has not been named publicly, managed to escape from the home on Friday, according to prosecutors.

He reported the attack to police, and has been taken to hospital for treatment.

Police say he had a gun pointed at his head, was struck with the gun, and had threats made on his family as his attackers demanded he reveal his password.

A police search of the home discovered several Polaroid photos of the victim being tied up and tortured, as well as firearms and drugs in the luxury home, police say.

In a separate case in France, police have arrested more than 20 people following a number of kidnapping plots targeting crypto entrepreneurs and their families.

Authorities said the arrests were in connection with investigations into a recent abduction attempt in Nantes and the attempted kidnapping of a woman and child in Paris in May.